How Much Does Israel Spend on Social Services? About 18% of GDP
Israel’s social services spending was about 18% of GDP in 2021, on the State Comptroller’s audit, with about NIS 3.5 billion outsourced in 2022.
About 18% of GDP went on social services in Israel in 2021, on the State Comptroller of Israel’s audit of the Ministry of Welfare’s purchase of social services from outside providers. The same audit puts the OECD average at 21.2%. For service delivery itself, the State Comptroller reports that the Ministry of Welfare spent about NIS 3.5 billion on outsourcing in three of its administrations in 2022, about 36% of the ministry’s entire budget.
| Figure | What it counts | Who published it | Period |
|---|---|---|---|
| About 18% of GDP | Israel’s expenditure on social services as a share of GDP | State Comptroller of Israel | 2021 |
| 21.2% of GDP | The OECD average on the same measure, the audit’s own comparator | State Comptroller of Israel | 2021 |
| 75% and 25% | Split of the cost of personal welfare services between the Ministry of Welfare and local authorities, under the matching funding method | State Comptroller of Israel | As at the audit |
| About NIS 3.5 billion | Ministry of Welfare spending on outsourced social services in three administrations, about 36% of the ministry’s whole budget | State Comptroller of Israel | 2022 |
| About NIS 2.5 billion | Out-of-home social procurement, 71% of total social procurement spending | State Comptroller of Israel | 2022 |
| 36% to 56% | Disability spending as a share of total welfare spending, the range across the local authorities examined | State Comptroller of Israel | As at the audit |
| NIS 132.6 billion | National expenditure on health, 7.6% of GDP | Central Bureau of Statistics | 2022 |
| NIS 132.0 billion | National expenditure on education, 7.5% of GDP | Central Bureau of Statistics | 2022 |
Social services spending was about 18% of GDP in 2021
The State Comptroller of Israel records Israel’s expenditure on social services at about 18% of GDP in 2021, below an OECD average of 21.2%, in its audit of the Ministry of Welfare’s outsourced procurement. The Israeli figure is published as a share of GDP inside that audit and not as a shekel total, and the comparator is an average across OECD member states on their own reporting conventions.
The Ministry bears 75% of personal welfare service costs
Personal welfare services are funded jointly. The State Comptroller of Israel reports that under the matching funding method the Ministry of Welfare bears 75% of the cost of those services and local authorities bear 25%. The two shares are of the cost of personal welfare services, not of the ministry’s budget or of national social spending.
- Ministry of Welfare: 75% of the cost of personal welfare services, under the matching funding method.
- Local authorities: the remaining 25%.
- Providers are mixed in kind, some commercial and some associations pursuing social aims, as the State Comptroller states in the same audit.
Outsourcing reached about NIS 3.5 billion, 36% of the budget
The State Comptroller of Israel puts the Ministry of Welfare’s spending on outsourced social services at about NIS 3.5 billion in 2022, across three administrations, which the audit relates to about 36% of the ministry’s entire budget. That figure counts purchased services in those three administrations and is not the ministry’s total spending. The audit also breaks the procurement down by administration and by whether the service is delivered away from the person’s home.
| Component | Figure | Share, and of what |
|---|---|---|
| Outsourcing in three administrations, 2022 | About NIS 3.5 billion | About 36% of the Ministry of Welfare’s entire budget |
| Out-of-home social procurement | About NIS 2.5 billion | 71% of total social procurement spending |
| Three named administrations | Not published separately | 92% of social procurement |
| Senior citizens administration | Not published separately | 8% of social procurement |
Source: State Comptroller of Israel, Procurement of Outsourced Social Services by the Ministry of Welfare, on figures for 2022.
Disability spending is 36% to 56% of local welfare spending
Across the local authorities it examined, the State Comptroller of Israel found disability spending running from 36% to 56% of total welfare spending, while disability cases ran from 10% to 38% of all cases handled by those authorities’ social service departments. Both are ranges across the audited authorities and neither is a national rate. The Comptroller also records about 1.6 million people with disabilities living in Israel in 2020, about 17% of a population of about 9.2 million, a group whose adult members are separately audited.
| Measure | Range across audited local authorities |
|---|---|
| Disability cases as a share of all cases handled | 10% to 38% |
| Disability spending as a share of total welfare spending | 36% to 56% |
Source: State Comptroller of Israel, Services Provided by Local Authorities to People with Disabilities, Centre against Periphery. The population figure is for 2020.
No Israeli body here publishes one total social services budget
The figures above come from separate audits on separate definitions and periods, and none of the bodies publishing them prints a single national social services total. The Central Bureau of Statistics publishes national expenditure on health and on education as their own national accounts series, and those figures are reported separately again.
- About 18% of GDP, social services expenditure, State Comptroller of Israel, 2021.
- About NIS 3.5 billion, outsourced social services in three administrations, State Comptroller of Israel, 2022.
- 36% to 56%, disability spending as a share of welfare spending across audited local authorities, State Comptroller of Israel.
- NIS 132.6 billion on health, 7.6% of GDP, and NIS 132.0 billion on education, 7.5% of GDP, Central Bureau of Statistics, 2022 data.
Which figures here may not be added together?
The about 18% is a share of GDP and the about NIS 3.5 billion is a procurement total for three administrations in one year; they are different quantities and neither derives from the other. The 36% relates that procurement to the whole Ministry of Welfare budget, and the 71% relates out-of-home procurement to total social procurement, so the two percentages sit on different denominators. The 36% to 56% and the 10% to 38% are ranges across the local authorities the State Comptroller examined, not national figures. The health and education totals published by the Central Bureau of Statistics are national accounts series on 2022 data and are not part of the Comptroller’s social services measure. Both the 18% and the NIS figures carry the word “about” in the audits and keep it here.
Questions readers ask
What is Israel’s social services spending as a share of GDP?
The State Comptroller of Israel records about 18% of GDP in 2021, in its audit of the Ministry of Welfare’s outsourced procurement.
What is the OECD comparator?
The State Comptroller of Israel puts the OECD average at 21.2% of GDP for the same measure, as an average across member states on their own reporting conventions.
How much did the Ministry of Welfare spend on outsourcing?
The State Comptroller of Israel reports about NIS 3.5 billion in 2022, across three administrations, which it relates to about 36% of the ministry’s entire budget.
What share of social procurement is out-of-home?
The State Comptroller of Israel puts out-of-home procurement at about NIS 2.5 billion, being 71% of total social procurement spending in 2022.
Who pays for personal welfare services?
The State Comptroller of Israel records a matching arrangement in which the Ministry of Welfare bears 75% of the cost and local authorities bear 25%.
Which administrations carry the procurement?
The State Comptroller of Israel reports that about 92% of social procurement runs through three administrations and 8% through the senior citizens administration.
Who provides the purchased services?
The State Comptroller of Israel states that providers are mixed in kind, some commercial and some associations pursuing social aims.
How much of local welfare spending goes on disability?
The State Comptroller of Israel found a range of 36% to 56% across the local authorities it examined, against disability cases of 10% to 38% of all cases handled.
How many people with disabilities live in Israel?
The State Comptroller of Israel records about 1.6 million in 2020, about 17% of a population of about 9.2 million.
What does community housing cost each month?
The State Comptroller of Israel reports Ministry of Welfare data putting the average monthly cost of community housing services at about NIS 1,700, against about NIS 13,000 for the alternative the Ministry compares it with. That is a cost comparison and the Ministry’s own data, relayed by the audit.
How many adults with disabilities is the Ministry meant to serve?
The State Comptroller of Israel records about 44,500 adults with disabilities aged 18 to 40 eligible to receive Ministry of Welfare services, in its July 2024 audit.
Does any of this include health and education?
No. The Central Bureau of Statistics publishes national expenditure on health at NIS 132.6 billion, 7.6% of GDP, and on education at NIS 132.0 billion, 7.5% of GDP, on 2022 data, as separate series from the Comptroller’s social services measure.
Sources
- Central Bureau of Statistics, 2024. Israel in Figures 2023: Selected Data From the Statistical Abstract of Israel. cbs.gov.il. Official or primary record.
- State Comptroller of Israel, 2024. The Ministry of Welfare’s Treatment of Adults with Disabilities. Ministry of Welfare and Social Affairs, English abstract. library.mevaker.gov.il. Official or primary record.
- State Comptroller of Israel. Procurement of Outsourced Social Services by the Ministry of Welfare. Ministry of Welfare and Social Security. mevaker.gov.il. Official or primary record.
- State Comptroller of Israel. Services Provided by Local Authorities to People with Disabilities, Centre against Periphery. Local government audit. mevaker.gov.il. Official or primary record.
